EssenceMediacom Canada has appointed entrepreneur and seasoned media exec Basmatee Shah as its new director of marketing and business development.

In her new agency role, Shah will lead marketing and business growth for EssenceMediacom Canada and will work with the global offices of the agency, as well as its parent cos GroupM and WPP. EssenceMediacom has offices in 96 markets globally.

Shah officially started at the agency in September, having spent the previous six years running her own indie beauty brand, LipCandy. Prior to that she held senior consumer publishing roles at Rogers Sports & Media for 13 years. Shah tells MiC that after running her own business, she wanted to “give back to an industry I really enjoy working in.”

At Rogers, Shah worked with advertisers including P&G, L’Oreal, Unilever and Kraft and worked on the launch and sales for Canada’s largest multi-platform shopper marketing vehicle, Walmart Live Better.

Before Rogers, Shah worked in media planning at companies that include MBS, Urban Outdoor TransAd and ZenithOptimedia building strategic solutions for clients such Kraft, P&G, TD Bank, Rogers, Mazda and Levi Strauss.